Happy Birthday To Me!




Happy Birthday to Me! Yippee!

I am 43 today.
To celebrate my birthday I learned how to finally put graphic buttons as links in my sidebar!
I am celebrating two graphic button links. One for Blog Advance (it is the nice stamp), and one for the International Webloggers’ Day site.

I am so proud of myself.
I even personalised them by making the link open in a new browser window!

Thanks for the lesson Al!

I am not doing much on my Birthday today, because today is Cam’s graduation commencement.
He picked up his cap and gown Tuesday, and he is all set to receive his diploma.

I asked Carl if we could postpone my Birthday celebration ‘till Saturday, when my folks can come and visit.


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Just a little note:
Even though we are all happy and celebratory I have to let everyone know that Wendy (Amber’s Mom) is very ill.
She is back in the hospital in Renfrew, and she has pneumonia.
Her body is shutting down.
We are very guarded in our hopes for her recovery this time.
Wendy has been very strong and has really had an upwards hill to climb since her double lung transplant.

Wendy has also been able to do some things she only hoped to do before her tansplant. She saw her older daughter Wed last summer, and she travelled out West to visit relatives.

Now we pray she is comfortable and relaxed. The doctors are doing all they can to keep her comfortable.
Our prayers are going out for Wendy and her family.

I hope this poem shares Wendy’s story with you.
Please remember it is for folks like Wendy, we sign our organ doner cards.
In a gesture of respect please think about what it would be like for you if you required a transplant. Turn over your driver’s license and check the I Am An Organ Doner box.
If you don’t have that box on your drivers license please write a little note, and sign it and put it in your wallet. “I want to donate my organs. I wish to give the gift of life.”
And tell your family your wishes.

Wendy has never regretted getting two extra years and counting.
My prayers are with her, and I will still light the flame of hope.
My prayers are with her family.
They are very strong
Everyone likes to know others are thinking of them.

If you are gonna say prayers for Wendy and her family, please write them in comments and put your first name and where you are from in the comment, and I will give the pages to Amber.




Wendy is a friend I made
Because her daughter met my son
I never could have guessed
She would become a great friend
A kindred heart, she is one

Fate joins folks together to find a way
To make the path a bit calmer
When we get dealt cards we cannot face alone
We must let go and allow help to come
The universe will help us… because we matter

Three months… one woman…. and her mission
Our lives have been changed forever
Wendy in our life is amazing
A joy when her wish…it was granted
And succeed did her mission
To get new lungs like she wanted.

How one woman can be so courageous
So constructive, creative, and fun
Amazed us the first moment she came here
We would do anything for this one.

Crafty, romantic and mother
Each day she wove her magic
With threads, and yarn and cotton
Her fingers created her mood

Imagine being able to truly weave your words
Each stitch in a quilt told your story
Every item and piece she created
She has built to her own testimony

Amazed I am at all Wendy creates
Enthralled by her stories and fun.
Her imagination makes me laugh

I will never forget,
Those photos of her cats,
In my mind

How patient she is to create such a show
For every month her cats dressed in costumes you know
Most every outfit hand made with love for her pets
In a calendar that she created …..with no regrets

Maybe a costume isn’t your thing
Well Wendy has more it’s quite amazing
Lace doilies, blankets, quilts and flowers
How ‘bout the embroidery she works on for hours
Do you need a tip or a hint for a craft or a cake?

Oh didn’t I tell you?
Wendy also can bake!

Do you need a low fat choice for the meal you make?
From her file of true greats an awesome meal she can bake!
How about an old style sweet cake for your craving
Oh Wendy knows those too
Are you a dessert fiend? Are you waiting?

Wendy is smart, Oh Wendy has savvy
She knows lots of stuff’
If she shares you’ll be happy

She reads lots of things
Information she knows...
Got a question of general knowledge?
Quick as a whip Wendy’s answer goes

If her kids learned it, Wendy learned it first
Keeping current with her knowledge
For Wendy was a thirst

She loves to read, and craft, and cook
Proud of family, lover of pets
A great story teller with no regrets

For three months one year Wendy entered our life
And our life is forever changed
What has she left us?
Our home full of memories, our heads full of stories
Our life full of compassion…..
And the heart of her daughter to our son


If you want to send Wendy Well-wishes you can put them in the comments section of the blog and I will send them to Amber to read to her Mom.

Thanks,

http://motivated-motion.blogspot.com/2006/06/happy-birthday-to-me-happy-birthday-to.html

Fall The Hawk

Then

Band on the Run Show

OF

Fall The Loss









This week has been one wild week.
Al is already working on the Official Logo Changes for the Fall The Loss web site.



Dustin has been re-mixing the Horch recordings.
And the final clean up of the Album cuts at the Pro Studio are on slot for Dustin to clean with Andy.





The Huge gossip this week was over Cam’s choice of transformation.
After 3 years of having the longest Mohawk ever
Cam decided to Fall The Hawk

Friday marked his day of transformation.
Graham took Cam into Tonyc Spa and prepped Cam for the royal pruning.

Graham saved the hair for Cam.
Originally Cam wanted to donate the Hawk to make a wig for a kid going through chemotherapy, but Graham explained to Cam that even though the hair was long enough, there wasn’t enough strands to make a wig.
So we opted to keep the hair strands as souvenirs of a Cam past.
(or at least until he’s a superstar, then we can sell it strand by strand on Ebay with the official pictures of proof!)


BAND ON THE RUN

Saturday was the finals of the “Band on the Run” competition at the Playdium entertainment centre in Toronto. There were 12 bands fighting for the coveted FIRST PLACE chance at a summer/fall tour of Ontario.
Alas, Fall The Loss did not come in 1st. They are in a final (online) vote for the People’s Choice awards. [for 5 days you can vote for them by signing up to Supernova (www.supernova.com), log in, then goto Concerts, Past Shows, Ontario, Canada, Playdium, June 24, 2006. Click the button beside Fall The Loss on the play list to vote. You can also rate the band by clicking on their name, and add yourself to the fans list.] You get one vote per day ‘till next Friday.

Good news is there was someone there with a professional photographer. They were writing in a book and calling people on the phone to hear Fall The Loss play on the phone, as the photographer wound her way all around the stage taking photos.

This is a promising event.

The live show Fall The Loss put off was awesome. The sound was great! The fans in the Mosh pit stirred up a lot of dust (literally) at this outdoor event!

Fall The Loss debuted their newest song, STALE, at this show. It was a hit! This new song is a long melodic tune. It is another proof of the versatility of the band. There is no doubt they are absolutely the best instrumentalists in the Indy, Ontario, Metal scene.

The fans were trying to convince the show agents to let Fall The Loss play an extra song, by cheering one more song, one more song, one more song!

But due to the technical difficulties earlier that day (the first stage generator blew up) Supernova needed to cut every band’s play by 10 min to accommodate the backlog, that having one stage only, created. Thus the fans were not able to be appeased by an extra song.

Fall The Loss’s fans know all of their songs by heart. They download them from the Web Site and learn every nuance of the song. They expect to hear all of their faves, plus at least one new song a show.

Fall The Loss has not disappointed their fan base. They write 7 days a week. They have a full band practice at least 6 hrs a week. There are teams of players and writers (which are all band members) that meet and practice specific parts throughout each week. And then the recording and mixing goes on with every free minute they have, after and before work and school.

These guys juggle full-time secondary and post-secondary education, full and part-time jobs, and until June 22nd also were committed to a Wind Ensemble Band and The Music Counsel at school. Each member of the band are masters of multiple instruments; and Chris is well sought after professional guitar instructor.

Practice schedules included Monday Night Fall The Loss, Wednesday Night Repertoire and Wind Ensemble, two other nights a week for Andy’s Recording of the Fall The Loss Master, and all their jobs in between. Plus song writing sessions, guitar piece development by Chris and John; and Ben would travel almost three hours, by car, back to his hometown from his University town for the Shows, recording, and New Song Practices all year.

These guys are dedicated to their Band. They do a great job of supporting each other.
Their Fans are their biggest support structure.
There were several fans that helped sell tickets to the Saturday show, and many friends purchased tickets even though they couldn’t come to the Playdium concert. Many of the fans participated in the Relay for Life all night relay for Cancer charities the night before the Band on the Run event.

Fall The Loss is planning a huge summer of concerts for 2006. Don’t forget to check the Fall The Loss web site to keep up with the concert dates.





Slide Show:
click on the picture of the band to see the slideshow:








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http://motivated-motion.blogspot.com/2006/06/fall-hawk-then-band-on-run-show-of.html

I Am Embarrassed That I didn’t Get A High Enough World Cup Fever



A quick note from one of my Friend in Bochum, Germany and I realised that I don’t have enough World Cup Fever. I guess I have World Cup hypothermia. :(

This is part of the note from my pal Andre, who writes for Cityweb.de, which inspired me:

Hallo Amy,
………………The thing is because of the WM 2006 I have to do quite a lot. Its such a big event here you can’t believe possibly. In this morning for example I’ve seen some Mexican soccer fans in Essen on the way to Gelsenkirchen where Mexico plays against Germany. On Monday I’ve seen myself a match between Togo and Suisse. Imagine even this match has been sold out
(which meant 65,000 spectators).
And the weather is great! One really feels as a sort of host towards all this fans. In Gelsenkirchen alone today 35 000 fans from Mexico! ………………..


Greetings André
Cityweb


This is so amazing.

I remember being in Germany during World Cup celebrations in the past. People singing Football chants on the train platforms. If you couldn’t go away to a match you were at the pub with your friends. And of course being able to drink your giant can of beer on any of the trains is such a benefit, as opposed to having to end the party at the door of the pub. :)

The first night I arrived in Germany was my first experience with Football fever. Here is me the funky little Canadian chick trying her best to use her German, and I get to the platform of the train to find crowds and crowds of folks singing in a drunken slurr. Strangers are hugging me and they serenade me with team songs. I am so confused. When 30something guys drink heavily at bars or pubs here in Canada, they usually want to fight in a brawl. They absolutely don’t want to hug me and serenade me! So I found out that Germans are very friendly while drunk! :)

The world knows Canada for Hockey. Big strong guys like Eric Lindros who could slam an opponent into the boards with the ferocity of a rhino.
Unfortunately Canada really doesn’t get any world recognition for Soccer (Football).
We haven’t made it to the Fifa World Cup since 1986. Gaaaaa! 20years already!

Canadian children start Football as their first team sport. Football first, then T-ball (baseball for little kids with the ball resting on a stick for the child to strike with a bat), then Hockey and/or Figure Skating.

Toronto is only now building their first National Football stadium.
On May 11, 2006 the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (runs Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey), and the Major League Soccer group have announced the formation of The Toronto FC. Our National Soccer Team. Also a new National Soccer stadium is being built on the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) grounds.

This is very exciting!
The stadium design is perfect for Toronto, and its location is pretty much right where the old CNE grand stand was located (which has been demolished for many years). This will bring back life to our fairgrounds and add another stadium venue. And most of all bring a national pride of Football to Canada.

You all realize that we call it Soccer here, and American Football is called football here. Yet, because we are so ethnically diverse, all Canadians understand soccer is Football to everyone else except those on the North American continent. So I will refer to my soccer as Football here.

I would really enjoy National Football Matches adjacent to Lake Ontario.
I am more of a live fan than a TV fan.
I am so proud of some of my students who have attained A-class Football team standings, as well as National team standing. I remember when I was a teen, many of my classmates hoped to be signed to a European team. No one ever dreamed of being signed to a Canadian team.

I am surprised that we are so behind, and chuckled at, for our Canadian Soccer Stars. And of course, right now there have been a few British Boos for the lone Canadian bloke on the British team.

If Toronto wants to be recognized as a World Class City that can accept huge events like the Olympics, we will have to show a greater presence in the team events that draw large crowds.
No doubt at all that the Toronto Football stadium will fill to capacity,( which is 20,000 seats), just like the Hockey Games sell out and the Basket Ball games sell out

Toronto is very team proud. And one more National team will ensure that there is a better chance for our kids to play on a World Class Canadian team in the World Cup of Soccer, rather than for a European team. Yippeee! Oh Canada!

I will wear team colours and I will paint my face. I would make funny Canada clothes for my doggy to wear. In the mean time I will wear the Toronto Football team colours, Red and Grey/Black. So I am practicing my cheer-leading, “Go FC, Go FC, Go Go Go!”[pom poms flying].


Ok, time to ask the big questions:

1) Is your World Cup fever high?

or

2) Or do you have World Cup hypothermia?

3) What team colours are you wearing?

PLEASE PUT YOUR ANSWERS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION FOR THIS POST
THANKS :)


CLICK BELOW TO SEE LINKS:

Official Toronto FC Website

News Highlight about Toronto FC ready to roll 2007

The design model of our new stadium


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http://motivated-motion.blogspot.com/2006/06/i-am-embarrassed-that-i-didnt-get-high.html

CATCHING UP IN JUNE


I want to fill everyone in on the events that I didn’t get a chance to speak about in my other posts.
Actually a great number of things have taken place for our family this June.
Hopefully I will be able to remember all that happened.

At the beginning of this month Alex and I started the template for the new Web Site: http://www.motivatedmotion.com, and http://www.motivatedmotion.ca .
It is a bit slow-going getting all the information compiled, and making the true template for the site.
Alex finally has the template the way he wants it, so it is my turn to compile more lists.
It is amazing what kind of research has to go in to the creation of a Portal.
All of the folks I contacted for permission to list them have been very supportive.
I hope that we can have the template and data management portion of the sight running by the end of the month. But I won’t get too upset if it takes longer.

The big news is this story I will tell you that will shock you a bit, and if you are like us you will cheer.
Last fall I asked Cameron to apply for College, even though he decided early that he wanted to return to high school for what we call a grade 12 return. (this is done by students in Ontario who wish to take multiple University or College pre-requisites to keep a greater range of doors open to them for post-secondary education)
My idea was that to go through the registration process and to have the experience of the screening process would be valuable to Cameron, so he wouldn’t freak out next year with the idea of the “unknown” of screening and registration.

Cameron applied to one course in one school. He applied to Seneca College on the York University campus. The courses in this college can be bridged into a University degree at a later time. Cameron applied to Radio Broadcasting. In February (I believe) we went to the college for Cameron to take part in the Orientation, and General Knowledge testing event.

At that Orientation they were also asked to bring a resume if they had any experience that applied to their program. If they didn’t have a relevant resume they were asked not to bring one.

Cam’s resume covered all the stuff he had done with his band that was relevant to the course. Meeting with agents, marketing band T-shirts and show tickets, working with a recording studio, teamwork planning of scheduled band practices and play schedules. Plus he was on the music counsel this year at school. He also has a certificate of completion from Humber College in Stand up Comedy.

Cam came out of the orientation a bit jaded and felt down about the process. They told them that 3000 people had applied for his course that took- like 40 students. And that the general knowledge test weighed heavily for acceptance. Cameron felt that he didn’t do well on the test, so he would not get in.

On June 8th Cam was accepted into the Radio Broadcasting program!
But unfortunately he does not want to take the course. He began to seek out other interests when he felt there was no chance for him to get into Broadcasting, and had begun to look at production engineering instead. And in early May he had settled in his mind that music production engineering was the way he wanted to go. So as far as we know, to when this is posted, Cam is turning down the Broadcasting program invitation.

Carl and I are very proud of Cameron reguardless of what he chooses. I told him that he should take this information with him in his heart when he applies for his new class of College courses in the late fall of this year. Just knowing he “has the right stuff”,to get in to a program as difficult as broadcasting is to get into, should make him very proud.

Alex has successfully made his transition from University to College for next fall. He finished his first year of University with great marks, and received early acceptance into Sir Sandford Flemming College, still in Peterborough. So Alex will be taking Computer Web Design, and he may add another computer course to that too. Interesting to change Classical History into Wrapping in code.

Both kids seem quite satisfied with their choices. I am very proud of them for thinking outside the box to make both of their decisions. It is so great to know they’ve got what it takes.

Big weekend Past and Big Weekend to come!

Big weekend past was Cam’s Prom.
Cam finally decided that being a rebel and not going to Prom was going to suck.
So he and his friend Sarah decided they would go together.
Sarah looked beautiful in a green dress styled in an old 30’s cut. A halter dress with a princess waist, long green satin. The princess waist was slightly decorated.
Cam wore his black suit and bought a new tie (cool tie of black with grey highlights) and new belt to add to the ensemble.
Cam said the meal was lovely. Stuffed chicken (with rice and spinach inside)
Cam also said he danced a lot!
A group of friends pooled their money together and they took a stretch limousine 4x4 to the prom.

The after prom party was split into 2 events.
The regular party that the majority of the school was going to was Wasaga Beach, and a more private party at a friend’s cottage in Huntsville.

Cameron’s friend Sarah went with all her gal pals to Wasaga Beach, and Cam was invited to the private cottage party in Huntsville.

“Fall The Loss” went to the private party. This group of kids and their friends are not into a big wild party. They didn’t like the rep the Wasaga Beach party had for bein’ really rowdy.
Mike, the band’s “lighting guy” was nice enough to have a party at his cottage. The Saturday after Prom Mike’s parents transported 8 friends to the cottage. All had the best time.

The same weekend as Prom was the official Stand-down of the Queen’s York Rangers Reserve troop in Aurora, Ontario. This has been the first event that Carl, Private Tucker could parade with his son Alex, Corporal Tucker. It was a great sunny day! Yet it was windy and cold.
Dad and myself and Cheryl all attended to watch them parade and inspection.

It was so awesome to watch Carl get inspected in the troop adjacent to Alex’s group.
Everyone was reminiscing about the past year events, and they were seeing off a few members that are on their way to Afghanistan in August.

Well even though it was cold out, Carl, Dad and I got sunburnt.
Everyone who knows me would realise that my skin is dark enough that I don’t burn.
But for some reason I got burned badly on my face and chest (must be my meds).
A few days after the burn I got a horrible pain in
my neck. Like hitting your funny bone pain that doesn’t stop.

It woke me up in the morning and would last all day.
On the third day I went to the pain specialist.
She told me that the damage to that nerve in my brain is deep within the dorsal horn, and this pain which is called (like) a neuro transference pain( I am hoping my guess of the title she used is close) proves the depth of the damage. And the darn pain was actually caused by a photo-reaction to the sunburn!
WOW! I am just wondering what other stuff will cause weird pains like that! It took three days for the pain to go away, but it is gone and I hope it is gone for good!
It looks like Carl will be “retiring” again soon. His company has downsized in two phases already with several hundred people being packaged off each time. And it looks as if Carl’s job will be phased out in the fall and he will be packaged off. I know Carl is looking forward to being packaged off this time. Not like last time when his part of the company was sold and they packaged him off (“retired him”)only to hire him in the other company to the same desk, same seniority and same job and staff. IT is poo poo these days.
Carl is looking forward to being able to choose anything for his next job. He may even choose a tasking in admin of the army. Alex is hoping his dad will join him in his Web Design Company that he already has going.
That brings us to summer jobs.
Cam has a job as a wing chef. He works for this pub that only sells chicken wings with a million flavour choices, fries, and salads. He is getting lots of hours.
Alex is a coffee guy. (I can’t remember what they call a person that makes expesso and cappuccino and iced coffee)
And he has his web design business too, plus doing all the music videos for Fall The Loss.
Early this month Alex and I video taped the “Brain Freeze” process for my Pain Specialist to show her patients so they wont be so worried about the procedure. That was cool.
Amber (Alex’s girlfriend) was here a few weeks in May. Her mom was back down on the transplant floor at Toronto General hospital on and off since February. This extended stay was to try to figure out why she lost a lot of weight and lost all her energy.
It is horrible to see someone feeling so crappy, and no one knows why. Amber would go almost every day to see her mom in the city, from our house in the country. Wendy improved a little bit while in hospital.
Then Amber had to go back home to Ottawa to do her work term (two weeks internship) for Forensic Science, at a lab that analyses documents. From what Alex told me, Amber found it interesting.
After her internship, Amber was ready to come back here to continue to visit her mom in the hospital. But at the last minute Wendy was released from the hospital and she got to go home. So Amber is home now too, to help her Mom conveless.
We wish Wendy a speedy recovery, so she can be strong enough to enjoy the beautiful summer by the Ottawa River.

Big Weekend to Come!

Our final note is a big stage show Fall The Loss is in on June 25th. They are finalists in The Band on The Run competition. The winner will be decided at Playdium on Saturday. This show is really important because the Judges are from Sony BMG and Coalition Entertainment, who usually want to sign bands that day.
It is an awesome day! $20.00 per ticket (no tickets at the door). For that money you get a two stage rock show with multiple bands(12 on the play bill) from Noon to close to midnight, plus a $25.00 Playdium (Mississauga ) arcade card for playing games, and a chance to see history for the best bands.
Fall the lost has already won battle of the bands and has placed in top 3 in many previous competitions, plus has the People’s Choice award behind their belt, to get this far. Most of the bands they are playing against have won as many awards in different competitions, so the quality of the players is HIGH.
The winner will get a Summer/Fall Ontario multi city tour, plus big labels will be there to sign bands if they like what they hear. This is an all ages show so the whole family can enjoy the day. The support for this show is quite important because if the band sells 50 tickets they get a lot of prizes and perks for the summer playing season.
If you live in the Toronto area you can email me or send a note in comments to purchase tickets.
I would say that Thursday is the last day for ticket sales by the band. (as they usually have to meet with the agents one or two days previous to the show to give the sales numbers). There is a map to Playdium at the bottom of this page.

So now we are all caught up!
Thanks again to everyone that participated in International Webloggers’ Day, and those that have network linked me and the other participants so we can all increase our net friendbase!
Have a great week!


*all the stuff in blue highlights are links*

(if you are looking for the Father's Day post and slideshow you can find the post in the right margin in Pevious Posts called "Oh Daddy". The slideshow can also be accessed in the Voyeur section in "Papa Slideshow"

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http://motivated-motion.blogspot.com/2006/06/catching-up-in-june-i-want-to-fill.html

Oh Daddy!




Dad was born in 41
Lil and Ernie’s only son

In infancy he lost his Dad
That darned old world war was so bad

He lived his childhood in “Cabbage Town”
On the east side of “the Don”

Five women this only boy did raise
He was good
They could give him nothing but praise

As each day passed in childhood
He found at sports he was very good

Hockey, Football, Baseball, Lacross
Didn’t matter what sport
He was boss

In the hockey days of yore
From age 7 to 16
That’s for sure

And when inside his 16th year
A beauty he did spy

Like ballet on the ice she flowed
Skating circles for the crowd

And Fell in love this boy did do
And Fell in love the girl did too

He pledged himself to uphold the law
And pledged himself to girl without flaw

Visit each day in his uniform
A broad strong cop from him reborn

A few years they did court and then
In ’61 Wedding Bells tolled for them

The girl and boy had a child
Not telling if she was soft or wild

He loved his wife and his baby girl
And the years flew by in crazy swirl

Buy a house and get a dog
Everyone is set

Winter, Summer, Spring and Fall
A hobby for each season

Skiing, Fishing, Camping, Golfing,
Hunting in the woods

And his little girl went too
Like he knew she would

Time passed by and the little girl
Had to leave the nest

When she went away To work in the Forest
Dad hugged her to his breast

When she was courted by his friend
A happy man was he

And when his friend ask for his child’s hand
His heart was filled with glee

To the Wedding he did go
To guide the Bride down the row
People gathered afore them

A few years passed and his Bride-child told him
That she would have a baby

In these years he did run
A Master of his lodge

Surrounded by his In-Law Son
And the father of that man

They serve within the Fellowcraft
Built men They must be

And he was such a happy man
When his grandchild was a boy

Boy Oh Boy!
A cute little boy

A Grandchild he could counsel
And teach this child the fun of life
And love him with all his heart

When a second boy was born to her
A happy man was he

This one was the comic child
And Papa laughed indeed

Everything that Papa did
The little boys did too

Fishing, Golfing each day long
Hangin with the”Big Guy”

Now his grandsons are both men
And his little girl much older

Within his eyes we see his pride
So pleased he is with what he sees
A family all around him

Strong and Sturdy Childish Fun
Old Man perpetually 12


Let me introduce you to my Dad
My one and only one

His child would be me












Happy Father’s Day Dad !
Love Lynn

*CLICK ON DAD'S PICTURE TO SEE THE SLIDESHOW*

http://motivated-motion.blogspot.com/2006/06/oh-daddy-dad-was-born-in-41-lil-and.html

In the wake of International Webloggers’ Day



Well the picture here shows you what I looked like after three days of on and off blogging and administrating the official InWeDay forum. (with the help of Al) Tired Teddy

It was a lot of firsts for me.
I hope all I learned won’t get forgotten in my brain injury mind, but if it does I have this post to jog my memory with.

This was my FIRST time using a messageboard forum.

My FIRST time administrating a forum.

The FIRST time I kicked a “crawler” out of a forum.

The FIRST time I tried to write anything Spanish on the Net. (and if I called anyone anything dirty I apologise. I don’t really write Spanish, yet I can swear and order food in Portuguese)

My FIRST time falling asleep at my keyboard. (no I lied….I do it a lot)

My FIRST time experiencing “track back”, and “watch this forum”.(ways of knowing when new posts are put up-tells you in an email prompt)

My FIRST exposure to “Tiny URL.” (cool minifying tool for lengthy URLs)

My FIRST time having a meltdown when I can’t get the FORUM LOCKED sign off. (but let it be known I have many mini meltdowns over my blog template a lot of frustrated tears and swearing. Usually in the form of exasperated whimpers, fist shaking)

My FIRST personal pinning on a Frappr Map. (actually never saw Frappr before. Love it! When you read this go down to the bottom of my page and add yourself to the map)

My FIRST use of” Neo Tools”. (awesome flag putter-upper and shout out box. Please use the shout out message box by the flags.)

The FIRST time I wandered around the world by web in Real Time.

My FIRST experience seeing the “Rent my Blog” window.(interesting concept, allows me to be a voyeur on two blogs at once. (Umm has some point remuneration system.) Ahhhhh )

The FIRST time I ever really used my My Space to connect with folks.

The FIRST time I bookmarked so many things the bookmark list rolls over twice!

The absolute FIRST time I have ever sat at a meeting and I actually liked everyone sitting at the table.(yeah bloggers!)

The FIRST time I allowed a little pile of dirty plates build up at the side of my desk. (no I lied again. Wish that was true. No plates to see but this is my desk today after the big InWeDay Marathon. See all the sticky notes I have to write cuz my Memory glitch! And the pile of miscellaneous trash that built up.)

FIRST time I browsed a list of blog sites and didn’t “accidentally” find porn.(very good thing. I am not particularly against Porn but I am not fond of it. I just don’t get anything out of it. Kinda all the same, way not like real life, no sense seein it all if you can’t bloody well touch it anyhow! Not like I wanna touch it ……Its like if I was in the sanctity of my own home……wait I am in my own home! (as I trip over my random thoughts) Ahh Porn just sucks, and really fouls with the creative flow and all that jazz! Anyhow Jackie Chan and Brendan Fraser never did nudy shots, so I have no interest)

I am sure there are more firsts but I am drawing a blank.
I really had a blast these last days talkin to everyone, and reading blogs.

The consensus seems to be that we bloggers would like a theme for next year’s special day.
We also would like cards and flowers and candy (my new input) dedicated to the day.
For us Geeks it would be WAY bigger than Valentine’s day, and almost as big as COS play at a comic book convention, or a LAN party.

I am sure when Al gets his say he would want to have part of our celebrations a RPG LAN party.WHOOT!

See I am even sounding like a geek, and if you zoom on those desk pics you will notice tidbits of code( )

I want to put a Shout Out of Thanks to Rio, Al, J, RheLynn, Simran, Jon, Michelle &, Kathy , Deb, Nora(link en francais), Geoff, Azuka, Suzi &, Osquer42 and Queenzy for taking part in the InWeDay Forum.

Thanks to: Gennie, Ron Allan, Paul, J, Pud, Charles Ravndal, and Chumly for the shout outs and comments for InWeDay.

You can click on any of the names and see their blogs.

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Ok your job should you choose to take it is:

1) Come up with a theme for the next International Webloggers’ Day.

2) Also come up with a theme for a real-life Webloggers’ Party.

3)And figure out which of the online games would be the easiest to play and the cheapest(free) to have that we could play in a room together online.

4)And should we use a audio visual chat next yr ?(clothing is NOT optional)

Please write your answers in Comments. Even if you are only a blog reader you can comment.

http://motivated-motion.blogspot.com/2006/06/in-wake-of-international-webloggers.html

WHERE IS HER HEART? WHERE ARE MY LUNGS?

(MY NEW POST IS BELOW THE WEBLOGGERS’ DAY INFO BOX)

Happy International Webloggers' Day!

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Read this blog for information on International Webloggers day chat forum. Register yourself to participate today!
Look for the Weblogger Icon Below to learn more.

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This is the important Weblogger Day information area

Alex and I are participants in the forum for Web Bloggers Day on June 14th.
If you are a Blogger I suggest that you check out this link and register your Blog on it.
What we would like to know is how has Blogging effected you this past year? What have you learned by participating in the Blogging community? What did you find as negative within the blogging community? What direction do you think the Blogging community could aim towards in the next year? Do you like the voice you have in blogging? Are you in an active blogging network? What does your network do that you think is Unique?

These are a few sample questions to get the forum started, but we can talk about anything you want to talk about.

If you have any trouble getting into forum, remember to log in, then if it still isn't working please use the link on the sidebar of this site to email me.

Thanks to RheLynn we now know that the forum is open. Don't be discouraged by the forum locked icon. If you register(have registered) for the forum you can login to participate and you will be able to post and reply to messages.

I would like to invite all who read this blog, whether you are bloggers or blog readers, to take part in my forum for International Webloggers day. You can go to myforum link
and register yourself in the top right area of the site for the forum. You will not be solicited for anything if you register here. You have an option to not show your web address or email address when you register. Registration is only to protect you from being harrassed in the forum, and so we can assure that minors don't take part unless their parents let them. I believe that you will get a notice for 2007 Webloggers Day events if you register for either link.

The chat forum is open for registration now, and will open for chat on Tues June 13 from 01200 (noon) GMT-5 to 01200 (noon) GMT-5 on June 15th.

Please register yourself to be included in the forum and then come and join us for the chat. I will do my best to have myself or Alex Moderate the chat for 18 of the hours involved. If you co-bloggers want to moderate too you can email me.

I am really excited about this forum. We will discuss what we have enjoyed about blogging this year, and what we would like to see change for next year. I am open to all discussion that day though, you dont have to just talk about this subject.


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(new post)WHERE IS HER HEART? WHERE ARE MY LUNGS?

I have shared my feelings on transplants before. My personal experiences with the transplant community have changed my life forever.

In honour of International Webloggers’ Day I want to direct you all to the Blog of my friend Merv Sheppard.

Merv is a Blogger who has an agenda. I believe it is a calling, and all that know him will agree with me for sure. He is well liked within the transplant community. If he has some that are a little put off with him, it is problably from those who’s hands are tied by the privacy laws our Medical community must adhere to, and this is understandable.

All of my references in this post about transplants are dedicated and directed to those within the heart, and lung transplant community in Toronto General Hospital.


Merv is also a transplant recipient. Since his recovery he has dedicated his life to being the communication conduit between Transplantees, their Caregivers, and their Families and the community at large.

Merv spends every moment championing the cause for Organ Donation and Transplant awareness. He does his best to touch by the life of every pre and post operative Transplantee who walks into the doors at Toronto General Hospital. He works hard to chronicle the life and death of each patient on the Transplant floor.

Merv tells their story when they have no voice to tell it themselves, he has opened his heart to share every life passing with each worn Family.

There are days that are so joyful that all want to share. There are celebrations and fundraisers to make all aware. Merv will write about it.

Merv has the utmost respect for all his brothers and sisters in the transplant community and he gives his time for them.

He is not the only person who is dedicated to this cause. He has a ring of other Champions that do their own thing along side him. But all turn to him to make sure everyone has the message we all share. In time I will tell you all about the others as well.

I first met Merv in the spring of 2004. Wendy Olson (my lovely Transplantee friend) and I were sitting and resting in the coffee corral on the main floor of the new wing of Toronto General Hospital. One of our three gruelling days a week (pre-transplant), we were putting in for clinical studies or “Treadmill Room” physiotherapy.

This small, senior man came bouncing into the area and homed in on us. He was making his contact. “Hello. I am Merv Sheppard. I am a Tranplantee and I would like to take your picture, and ask you a few questions. I have a newsletter I write for the lung transplant group.”
AAARG ! How would he know we were in the Transplant unit? Oh……….I guess Wendy walking around with an oxygen tank is pretty obvious. LOL

Perky, smerky man full of life and chitchat. Catches you off guard when you are suffering through another gruelling transplant day, to take your picture. Who was that silver haired mild mannered reporter? Merrrrrrrv Sheppppaaaard!

It wasn’t until that night we realised what Merv capturing us on film meant.
He sent us each an email with our pics in it.
Along with the pics was a brief explanation of Merv’s Newsletter mission.
One quick email reply and we were a part of The Network.

Wow! Suddenly Wendy and I were attached to the info sight we had been looking for.
Routed to every associate that was doing SOMETHING for the transplant cause.
Newsletters, calendars, updates on Transplantees’ conditions, new innovations in transplant care, therapy, treatments, and surgeries.
We have been updated on every situation that has arisen since.

If we needed to tell all the Transplantees about something we could email Merv.
If we want to help yell the transplant message to others, Merv will help us have a voice.

If we hear a rumour we stay tuned to Merv, cuz he will hunt down the truth.
If transplants make news, Merv shares the message.
If a Transplantee or Transplantee Family has an issue that other patients can relate to and maybe help with, Merv informs us.

Not all of the Transplantees are well. Some are just OK. Some can’t get back to Toronto to participate in Tranplant Fundraisers, BBQs, Dinners, Super Fabulous Announcements from the Transplant Doctors, Bake Sales and Marathons. An endless amount of events. Merv works very hard to chronicle these events in photos to share with those who can’t be with everyone. This makes us all feel like we participated.

In June 2004 Wendy Olson received her transplant, and my job as a support person ended with the passing of the torch to her family for Wendy’s recovery. We share our joy for Wendy’s life.
And now, as time passes and Wendy is still with us, we thank God every day that the miracle of life has touched us. Rebirth is Awesome!
But it is really hard to let go the buddies one makes through “The Treadmill Room” and we seek out Merv’s newsletter, and “Carepages” to catch up on our buddie’s health and well being.

When things don’t go so good we also seek out Merv who will stretch his arms out through the email once more to tell our friends what is happening.

It may sound sad and morbid to talk about death so readily, as Transplantees often do…..
But I think that the brave people who go through the steps towards, and receive transplants have earned the right to be as free as they wish about death, for they have touched the edge for many days in a row and have earned that battle stripe.

It is important for Transplantees to share the good and the rough with their brothers and sisters. Knowledge is power, and sharing the hard stories may save a life of a fellow Transplantee going through the same trials. Celebrating the life of a friend gives yours more meaning. And empathy goes very far among these warriors of life and death. Transplantees share a life changing experience that begins with illness and ends with a life of tests that none of them are ever spared from. Merv does an awesome job to help them yell this song the loudest.

Please take a moment now to say a prayer of thanks for people like Merv Sheppard.
Take a few moments from the rest of your day and look at his blog and explore his links.
Learn about things you really never thought of.
Smile, be proud, laugh and cry at what you see.

For He who writes
Writes out of Love
Love is Charity
Charity releases us all from bonds of this crazy world.

Maybe today YOU will see The Other Side.

Thank you Merv.
From the bottom of My Heart, and Her Lungs.

Lynn Tucker

CLICK THE LINKS BELOW TO SEE MORE:

Merv's Blog

My post on Legistlation to assume we are all donors

http://motivated-motion.blogspot.com/2006/06/where-is-her-heart-where-are-my-lungs.html

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Read this blog for information on International Webloggers day chat forum. Register yourself to participate today!
Look for the Weblogger Icon Below to learn more.

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Time To Learn About The People Behind My Links



Well it has been close to three months since I began this Blog adventure.

The responses to the Blog have been fantastic.

I have received so many emails asking questions, and extending the conversation about the content of my Blog that I have been inspired to add a Web Site to this whole internet life.

I am the proud owner of www.motivatedmotion.com, and www.motivatedmotion.ca.
Please bookmark these, as they will be up and running very soon.
My Son Alex is developing the sites for me so I have something to keep me busy for around 20 minutes a day. They will have the same content so they can service the Web to their fullest potential.
The Motivated Motion Site will be a Spirituality and Wellness portal.
This Site will service the 416 and 905 area codes of the Greater Toronto Area.

The response to the site from the folks who will have links and info shown has been tremendous and I have been busy answering emails!
That is why I haven’t written this post earlier.
So today I will explain parts of my Blog and the people behind them:


MY GOOGLE SEARCH BAR AND MY INTEREST LINKS

At the top of this post is my Google Search bar. Enter your search request in the box and press the SEARCH button to find what you are looking for.

The three links with my Search bar are sites that I chose to put in there. These are sites many of my friends frequent. I wanted to do my best to make my site one they can navigate towards their other favorite sites with. I also wanted to provide a search bar so if you are sparked by my articles to seek out something else, you can search it here.




EXPLAINING THE TITLE MOTIVATED MOTION

The whole idea of the Blog and the Web Site was to give me a hobby to do what I could do in my limitation of 20 min increments. For those of you that don’t know about my limitations I will explain. I won’t dwell on the negative, so I will rarely talk about this in the Blog.

One year ago I became very sick. I have spent over a year with a headache that would not go away. Twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week with a headache. And sometimes the pain would be very bad and the headache became migraines. After a year of investigations we learned I don’t have cancer. Which is very good. But some things were not so good. I lost my ability to swallow food well, I have problems with my immediate memory, I mix up my words when I speak which is called Affasia, and I am also suffering with arthritis in my knees, as well as my Thyroid gland stopped working.

In the end of it all the Doctors could agree that two nerves in my neck have been effected by some sort of injury. The injury could be caused by an auto-immune disease damaging the nerve sites, or even some sort of impact injury. Non the less the injury is there. As the pain specialist says, “You now own this problem, it isn’t going away.” The root of one of the nerves is damaged deep within my brain. The second nerve effects my ability to swallow in syncopation.

So I am retired for medical reasons.
Getting used to my new life was not as difficult for me as one would imagine.
For most people the idea of being in pain all the time is very scarey probably sad.
Actually when you are in pain all the time you must learn to manage within your limitations, and if you don’t find a way to be productive you will disintegrate.

My personality has no room for disintegration. I need to feel like I am participating in life. Whether that means being very active in my own wellness treatment, or finding a way to be able to do something within my limits that allows me to learn at my own pace, and create a world that is fun.

I call it finding a new NORMAL.
My normal now fills with a medication cocktail regimen, physiotherapy, memory exercises, and weekly injections of anesthetic into my brain, head and spine followed by rest to allow the nerves to repair to the best of their ability, and soon…. work with a speech pathologist to help me learn how to swallow again. ( and yes I have not lost my sense of humor so I DO find that last line very funny!)

My number one disability is that I cannot concentrate on more than 20 min of activity at a time, or my head will hurt and I pay a price for my fun. I cant be very spontaneous any more. So now I have to learn to plan, and accept that I have to find new fun. Plus accept the fact that I cannot always participate in all the family activities.

I find fun in taking photos for my Son’s band. Then I don’t have to sit too long and hurt my neck and stimulate a migraine.
I write the Blog because on days I have what I call “The Brain Freeze” I am frozen from my knees up for around 12 hours, and can’t do anything else but click a mouse.
My motion and movement becomes like a person who has MS. I can walk but I don’t have any resistance in my movement so if someone bumped me I would just crumple to the ground. I can move my arms if they are resting on something, but I cannot lift my arms at the shoulder. Which is really funny to watch. I can’t prepare my own food or make a last minute rush to the toilet, so I have to plan well. The days I am frozen I have no pain. I am in a great mood but my brain is dull.
My speech is slower, and I can’t really move. Imagine me talking slow with a slurr to my words and motion, and only being able to bend at the elbow and can’t lift my arms. Best of all I flap my legs around so when I walk I make a “ SLAP! SLAP!” sound with my feet!

At this point everyone who knows me must realize that I am laughing so hard right now trying to describe myself that the tears are running down my face.

So we come to the point of all this. My Blog really describes my life right now………. Motivated Motion. I don’t take for granted anything any more. I don’t waste the time that my body allows me, and I don’t want to identify myself with my medical problems. I want to identify myself with what I am able to accomplish within my limitations. I strive to be able to expand the world I can work with, within my 20 min limitations.

My family has helped me find a way to do this.
We have figured out many ways to create a new NORMAL.
I am proud of all of us.

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WELCOME TO MY LINKS

All the links on the right side of my Blog are purposeful.

This is the important Weblogger Day information area

When you look at my links today you see that the first link is for International Web Bloggers Day.
Alex and I are participants in the forum for Web Bloggers Day on June 14th.
If you are a Blogger I suggest that you check out this link and register your Blog on it.
What we would like to know is how has Blogging effected you this past year? What have you learned by participating in the Blogging community? What did you find as negative within the blogging community? What direction do you think the Blogging community could aim towards in the next year? Do you like the voice you have in blogging? Are you in an active blogging network? What does your network do that you think is Unique?

I would like to invite all who read this blog, whether you are bloggers or blog readers, to take part in my forum for International Webloggers day. You can go to my link
and register yourself in the top right area of the site for the forum. You will not be solicited for anything if you register here. You have an option to not show your web address or email address when you register. Registration is only to protect you from being harrassed in the forum, and so we can assure that minors don't take part unless their parents let them. I believe that you will get a notice for 2007 Webloggers Day events if you register for either link.

The chat forum is open for registration now, and will open for chat on Tues June 13 from 01200 (noon) GMT-5 to 01200 (noon) GMT-5 on June 15th.

Please register yourself to be included in the forum and then come and join us for the chat. I will do my best to have myself or Alex Moderate the chat for 18 of the hours involved. If you co-bloggers want to moderate too you can email me.

I am really excited about this forum. We will discuss what we have enjoyed about blogging this year, and what we would like to see change for next year. I am open to all discussion that day though, you dont have to just talk about this subject.


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After that link you see a few Google Ads on my link lines. These are Adsence for Content Ads. I am able to control the content of the ads by changing the content of the body of my blog. So the ads will correspond with the things I write about. This is sooo cool. It gives links for other interesting things available on the web. Info sites or programs or links to great definitions etc.

Next are links to my Web Sites and my other Blog source which is My Space. My “My Space” really just lets everyone, who identifies with My Space, know that this Blog you are reading exists.

Alex and Cameron have told me that successful Bloggers do two things. They allow very ingenious ways to help everyone find their working Blog site, by connecting other sites to them. So all the people who are on my friends list on My Space have the potential to read this Blog. The second thing a successful Blogger does is take the time to read a lot of other people’s Blogs, and find the ones you like and make comments to the other Bloggers sites to create a great new network, and great internet friendships. Success in blogging is measured by the increase in number of official page impressions. This means you succeed if more people on different computers everywhere read your stuff. So Boggers end up creating a fraternal order to aid each other to be successful, while learning something from each other.

I like to read Blogs of others who live far away, and in cultures that are different than mine in Canada. I really enjoy reading Blogs of people who are ESL (English as a second language), who write their Blogs in English to help them keep their language skills flowing. I also like to read Blogs of people who have similar interests as me: gardening, crafts, music, art and photography.

I have a little group of Blogger friends whom I read as much as I can.
They are in my links section.
I also have links to my photo galleries.
Most of the photos people have seen on my Blog so far have been from my work creating Archives of my family photographs, from all my life.
But soon you will get to see galleries of my Digital Photos, like the ones I have done for Fall The Loss.



MY SLIDESHOWS

My slideshows are links I have created to slideshows of my personal archives. Originally these links are found at the bottom of a post. When the post is past I will put the slideshows in the links so you can access them at any time.
I will also put videos, podcasts or MP3s in this area if they originally were put as a link at the bottom of a post.




POGO

Pogo is a game site. If you like solitaire and puzzle games, slot machines, or arcade games this is the place for you. Pogo is free. It has a running chat in every game room. My friends and family who live far way all belong to pogo. I can click on the friends list and find my Mom or Dad playing a game and I can pop in to their room to watch them and say Hi or I can play a game with them. For a long time my before bed ritual was to play Gin Rummy with my Dad and chat about our day. A great 20-min time filler. Winning games gives you points and getting points means you qualify for accomplishment badges, and can use the points to create your game character. This little cartoon is “your” persona called a “mini” you can spend your points at “the mini mall” and dress up your mini, or let your mini go on holidays in exotic places. This is a great free way to shop and spend no money, chat with your family without long distance bills, and have some imaginary fun. The selection of games is vast. Now I play pogo for the last hour of my day. I have a medicine cocktail I have to take and once I take it I can’t walk safely, so I play pogo until the medications take effect then I go to bed.



FALL THE LOSS

Fall The Loss is the band of my youngest son Cameron. Those that know Cam would be expecting him to be the drummer in this band, but he is not. He is the lead singer. The young men in this band are all accomplished musicians. They are between the ages of 17 and 21. They are all a very smart students as well. Fall The Loss has been together for over a year. And in this past year they have been rated the # 3 indy band in Ontario. They have won many competitions in their genre. They are a Heavy Metal Band.
These guys work very hard as a band. They have scheduled practices every week, and there is no excuses allowed to miss them. They work in the recording studio on days other than practice day. Each have part-time jobs too. They have a huge following of fans and their web site forum is pretty busy with chatter. These guys are worth following because they play no cover music. The band writes all of their own material. I am betting they will be internationally famous.



AUTOMATIC PIXEL PRODUCTIONS

Automatic Pixel Productions is the brainchild of my other son Alex. This is the Web Development Company Alex created to produce all of the Fall The Loss Web Site and Video Archives. From this endeavor spawned a business that has grown one web site at a time while Alex has been busy at University.
He creates web sites and branding for companies, and maintains them. Branding is designs that companies use for trademarks on their Web Site and letterhead etc. He has switched his major now, so he can get his certification papers for the programming he is already proficient in. Alex writes in code. He does not use templates for sites. To be successful in Web Design you need to know code backwards and forwards and you have to be artistic to develop branding. You can contact him if you need a Web Site built, or if you need a consultation to fix or expand your existing site. Automatic Pixel Productions develops and creates the templates for my Web Sites.



FIREFOX

These days my best teachers are my own kids. They are men now and know a heck of a lot more than I did at their age. Alex turned me on to Firefox. I was having a heck of a problem with my Netscape Web Browser, and I don’t like the fragile security of Internet Explorer. So Alex recommended I switch to the browser Firefox. Firefox is awesome! It works like netscape yet it is more bare bones and frees up the computer speed and memory for better use of applications.
If you want to learn more about it you can click on this line.
It even imports all of the info from your email folders- web and local.
I find it so much easier to work with.



THE CHAMBER DOOR AND NEVERMORE STUDIOS, A-A-AND WYTCHWOOD RAMBLINGS

When my friend Laurie moved back to Newfoundland, I lost my fun buddy. Laurie is an amazing artist. I have several of her pieces in my house. She does mostly Newfoundland inspired paintings. She has created a quite successful online business for her art through Ebay. Laurie is also the friend who inspired me to begin Blogging. She started a Blog and I enjoy it so much I wanted to do one. Laurie’s Art Gallery is Nevermore Studios. If you look at her gallery you can see she has great success for her paintings of women hanging out laundry on the clothesline. Which is totally Newfoundland. Now if you live here in Ontario you are seeing on TV, these days, a commercial about travel in Newfoundland. I believe her paintings have inspired the new commercial of the laundry blowing in the ocean breezes of Newfoundland and Labrador that we see for this summer season. Cool huh!?

Laurie is as goofy as me. We both have quite a wild sense of humor and we both like to poke fun at ourselves. It is great that we can find our friendship closeness through our Blogs.

Wytchwood Ramblings is the Blog of Laurie’s Mom. I won’t reveal her name because so far, it seems she has not made it public in her Blog. She is a very wise “witch”. She and her life partner are very accomplished in their Spiritual Knowledge and gifts. You need to read her stuff to see where Laurie’s comedy comes from. Seriously funny!

I am very proud to be able to have real life friends who write such great Blogs. I am very happy that they can share their artistic side and humorous stories with the world. It is really neat to be able to say that I really know these people, they have been my friends for years and years.

FOLLOW THE NASA EXPERIMENT

This site is really interesting.
The contributors to this site are taking part in an experiment by NASA on the effects of being in a horizontal position for extended periods of time.
The participants are suspended by slings to mimic weightlessness. They share their diaries in this blog.
They are kept in this position for three months. Their bone density and muscle density are montitored and recorded.
The results of this study will help us learn the potential effects of long space travel on the body system.


ALI, DAPHNE, GREGORY, LINDIE, ANGYI(JIEMIN), LINDY, KIETH, CINDY, VALERIE, WIDOW'S SON AND STEVE'S 2 CENTS

The links for these people are different, yet share the fact that they are in my little Blogger Fraternity. I personally know none of these people, but they all have interesting Blogs that I learn from. Some of us chat on MSN and we all read each other’s Blogs.

Ali is from China. He is a University Student studying medicine. He writes his Blog to practice his English. He would like people who speak and write English to help him edit his Blog. You can write your edited changes in the comments section of his articles. Now Ali knows that people are reading his Blog, he is inspired to share legends and essays about his culture. His stories are really interesting, and they teach me new things every week

Daphne is an artist. She is inspired by Kitch culture. She loves Retro furniture and artifacts. Daphne is from the Netherlands. She writes in English. Two things about her Blog keep me coming back. I really like the retro look of the work she does, and sometimes I can catch little glimpses of French and Flemish in things she writes, or is written about her. Having these little tidbits of that culture diversity is important to me. When in Westfalia I was surrounded by friends who spoke German and Flemish and French, and I never get to work on that much here in Canada. I feel really nostalgic when I read Daphne’s blog, and if another language pops up I am challenged to decipher it.

Gregory Peters is a Freemason. He is also a Gnostic. For those who are not familiar with the Greek Pagan traditions(One Man One God) you can search Rosecrucians, or Thelema. So his pagan roots are quite close to mine. He is a beautiful writer. I put him on originally for my Dad and my Husband to read. Now many read his work because my Blog gets passed around to a bunch their fellow Mason buddies.
My husband had something to say about faith at the time I am writing this piece. He said, "Most men don't know religion, faith and Godliness. They miss the proof that God exists. The Geese outside my office are great proof. They have their babies in the city. Three adults watch a cluster of babies resting on the Boulevard. When they have to cross the road there is an order to how it is done safely. These Geese know what to do. That is sacred and Godliness."
Our family has a long history in the Masonic order. My Father, my Father-in-law, and my Husband are Past Masters of their Lodge. My Husband was the youngest Master to be installed at their lodge. My Mother was a member of the Eastern Star as well. My Son Alex is 20 this year, and he aspires to join the lodge when he comes of age at 21.
Both my Father and Husband are well known for their excellent degree work, and they take part in many installations. My father keeps the archives of his lodge, and both my Dad and Carl are great historians of the lodge. It will be an honor for them to guide my son through the ranks.
If you are a Mason and want to network you can leave a comment in the comment section with your email address, and I will pass it on to the guys. You can start the comment: Dear RW Bro’s


The Widow’s Son is the founder of The Burning Taper. He has Blogs and Web Sites dedicated to Masonic News and information. He even publishes cute news about Supersticious ideals. He has the best rants, and he offers others to have their articles republished on his site.

Between Greg’s Blog and The Burning Taper you can link to a whole host of Masonic information.
Nice to mull over with some classical music playing on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
I have also added a site location to catch the song, "The Masonic Ring" by Howie Damron.


Lindy, Keith, Lindie, Angyi, Cindy, and Valerie can all be found by links through each other’s Blogs. These Blogs are written by twenty-something Asian students. Their writings about life from the point of view of a student are remarkable. Some living in their home country, some might be abroad for school. Their insight is great! They also teach about culture in their Blogs. Learning and teaching, all around. Really nice work.

Steve’s 2 Cents is a great example of making your Blog work for you. It is a bit busy, but it really outlines what Alex has been telling me about Blogs. Al says that you make a Web Site to house one idea, and you use your Blog to tell everyone who reads your Web Site about your personal interests. Steve does a great job of showing you how to navigate through his site and tell you everything he is into and participating in as links on his Blog. People who spend a lot of time writing literature for multiple venues can use their own Bog to direct all their friends and colleagues to the work they are currently involved in.




PIXEL 2 LIFE

This is Alex’s recommendation. For all of us Bloggers and Wannabe Web designers this is the easy read guide to all things web. Alex says no one should do anything Web if they are not prepared to do some reading at Pixel 2 Life.



THE CURRENT INTEREST AREA LINKS: Rick Mercer’s Blog, Lily Dale, James Van Praagh, Coast to Coast, Sacred Sites of the World, Wilton Wedding Cakes, The Da Vinci Code, The Grand Lodge of Canada
This area of links can be dynamic at times. Every time I write a Blog I will search out interest sites and put them in this area. In the past I have included definitions from Wikipedia, and links specific to the article I have written. So if you see it here now, there is a great possibility the link will be gone upon the next post.
Keep up with these links and bookmark the ones you like. If you really like a site you can write a comment in the current post and I will keep the info site up in this part of the links.

Rick Mercer is a Canadian political satirist. He is very smart and keeps his work to the current pulse of Canada. He is a quick-witted funny man. He has a weekly TV show here in Canada.

Lily Dale is a town in New York State that is renowned for it’s Population of Spiritualists. From Arthur Conan Doyle to my Great Grandmother as known Spiritualists who converged on this town for over the past hundred years.

James Van Praagh is “The Gost Whisperer”. A well-known spiritualist medium. I thought that people might get a kick out of the televised Séance.

Coast to Coast is my Mom’s favorite Web Site. She loves to hear about all of the paranormal and UFO stuff. So this link is put on just for MY MOM. If you want to comment on your favorite Coast to Coast information to my mom you can write the comment on this post and include your email address, and I will pass on the message to her. Just start the comment: Dear Lynn’s Mom.

Sacred Sites of the World is one of my favorite sites. I like the pictures of all of the amazing places. Some of the places I have been to before. I really like looking at this site.

Wilton Wedding Cakes. Well for those who are into cake decorating I don’t have to say any more than the word Wilton. Wilton produces yearly books on decorating. They create catalogue collections of the latest in cake decorating designs. This company is signature in cake decorating supplies. If you want an idea, this is the place to look.

Da Vinci Code is the official Sony site for the movie. I am not going to get in to arguments about the validity of the “history” shared in the story. I like the mystery story in itself. The movie is well made, and I was not disappointed by Ron Howard, and it is on my list of “To Buy” DVDs for sure. I feel it has about the same pace as “ The Italian Job”, or “Oceans 11 or 12”. If you still want to put your critique of the movie in Comments, you can put it in comments of this post or the previous post.

The Grand Lodge of Canada site is produced by the Canadian Masonic Lodge. The Grand Lodge is the governing body of the fraternity of Lodges in a specific area.



GET OR ORGANIZE AND SHARE YOUR PHOTOS WITH SOFTWARE BY GOOGLE

There is a link button and a big Radio Button on my blog front page for this service. The reason that I have these here is to help you have a chance to make use of this offer. Picassa and Hello are part of the Google family of fine photo organizers and publishers. My friend Pauline uses Picassa religiously. She is the Queen of scrapbooking. Pauline says, “I use the Picassa because it is easy to organize the pics I scan or download. I can get my scrapbooking pics all ready- sized and edited on Picassa. Then it is a simple task to send them to Walmart on the net to photo process them.”

Pauline is moderately computer savvy. But she is “da bomb” at scrapbooking. If she says Picassa is easy then it is honestly easy. If you are looking at an easy way to edit and organize photos you can click on either option here and get what you need.

When I do a future post on scrapbooking I will encourage Pauline to take a few pics of her finished scrapbook pages so you can see her awesome work.

Pauline’s Son Shane is getting into photography. He has published his pics of Australia and places down under in calendars and such. His site www.shanedegeus.com is my newest link.

While I mentioned Walmart I will tell you what Pauline told me. “If you go to www.walmart.ca you can choose the Walmart closest to your home. Upload your pics to them for processing, and pick them up in an hour at the store. Why is this better than just taking your memory card to the store? It is cheaper! You save money by sending your pics online.” If you are in a country other than Canada then just add the appropriate tail (eg: .com, .de etc), if you have a Walmart near you.

Pauline says when it comes to scrapbooking it is all about the half-life of the photograph. Processing at a commercial processor still produces a photo with a longer half-life than if you print it on your own photo printer at home. Not to mention that at as low as 19cents a print you can’t get a price per print cheaper than Walmart these days.



FLICKR BADGES

These are flash badges of my archive photos. I make them. You can expand one picture at a time by clicking on them when they are in the badge. If you want to put badges in your Blog you can click on the bottom of the Badge and you can get more information.

Flickr is associated with Yahoo.



LUNAR PHASES CALENDAR
This is produced by Quick Phase. You can get this for your Blog too. You can click on the bottom of it to find out how.
If you want the Quick Phase for yourself and not your Blog, there are options to get wallpaper and screensavers here as well.
It is worth checking out if you want more expanded information than just the lunar calendar picture.



THE FLASH PETS THAT YOU CAN PLAY WITH
Bunny Hero Labs offers free pets to put in your Blog. They are cute and just a neat little net toy to play with. I have had quite a few positive responses bout the pets. Click on the Bunny Hero link on the pet box to make your own. You can feed the pets or tickle them with your mouse curser or move around a toy with the mouse.






I POWER BLOGGER

This Radio Button will link you to the site where I went to start my Blog. You can also link way up the top of the page in the left corner of the blue bar.

Speaking of the Blue Bar. You can also browse other Blogs using the navigation button on the right corner of the Blue bar.
Try it out by clicking the NEXT BLOG button.


ONE LAST COMMENT

Have you been inspired to start blogging yet?

All the comments made to my Blog posts are moderated by me before they go into the Blog.
If I have directed you to add your email address so someone else can email you to network, I will not publish your email address in the public comment. If you specifically request me to publish your site link or email address when you make a comment I will check them out and put the links in if they are appropriate to my link standards.

What are my link standards? I do not publish “adult or Pornographic” material on my Blog or Sites.

Some of my material may be upsetting to readers if they are prejudice to multiculturalism or multifaith ideals. Oh well, I am Canadian. From the great society that has a “salad bowl” philosophy, culture dynamic. In our country most people are only 3rd generation Canadian at best, and many have not spent their first winter with snow here yet. We come from the land that encourages all of our people to keep their culture and faith and not try to assimilate into some pale notion of life. To ones who are offended by my open ideals and love of multiculturalism- “Get over it”
To everyone else- “Cheers! So mote it be!”




FEED CYA A TREAT FROM THE TREAT BAG

http://motivated-motion.blogspot.com/2006/06/read-this-blog-for-information-on.html